One Makes You Mortal
by Vaako
Summary: Yuki takes it too far with Kyou one rainy night. Haru is there to witness it all... and there is nothing he can do.


One Makes You Mortal

He didn't know why, but when Kyo left at dinner that night, he felt compelled to follow.

...Yuki had been doing his usual routine, obsessing on something from his past and then taking it out on the cat. Tohru was absent that night, she would probably be the one to go after him, Kyo would prefer that, so would Haru actually, but no one else was offering.

_"Monster."_

That was bad, very bad. Yuki would be regretting this now; he'd apologize - once he realized what he'd said. The cat, of course, had retaliated - at first. That soon stopped, when all Yuki would say to his comments, replies, yelling...

_"Monster."_

Eventually the cat had given up, eyes staring at nothing, memories of angry, twisted faces. Hatsuharu looked at Yuki, as Yuki looked at Kyo, as Kyo looked at the ground, and he thought that Yuki resembled Akito.

Then Yuki had stopped saying it, and his eyes had widened, and his mouth had opened slightly, as if he would say something - something that Haru thought would not be an insult. But the rat just closed his eyes, before opening them anew with a sense of horror around the edges.

Kyo had stood, abruptly and left, without a second glance at anyone, as if he were alone. Maybe he was. Haru sped up his steps, wondering which room was Kyo's, he needn't have worried though, one door was open, and the slight noises coming from the room assured him that it was occupied.

He approached the door quietly, peered in and froze, Kyo sat on his bed, back facing the window, head in his hands, shoulders shaking...

His almost silent keening filled the room, and shapes seemed to climb out of the shadows, voices seemed to crawl out of the echoes and Haru wanted to comfort him, he wanted to help and...

Stupid cat... - Stupid Yuki - not Yuki!

But no, he couldn't help Kyo, the cat would hate him if he knew he had seen this - he had to leave.

As he was about to back out of the room, Kyo looked up, fear in his eyes - and he stepped forward instead - he knew his mistake instantly. Kyo's face contorted into anger and he stood and whipped round, to hide his tear-stained face.

In those vague few seconds before the storm - that was Kyo's rage - hit, Haru wondered why the cat hadn't gone to the roof, then he saw the bag - he had been packing to leave and - then why hadn't he left?

Then he realized it was raining.

Then he realized there was a fist coming towards his face, and ducked, and then he realized that there was in fact another fist located in his stomach, and a door slammed somewhere.

Oh.

He was in the hallway again, and Kyo's door was shut. Black Haru had not come out, he hadn't gotten angry.

Hatsuharu sat outside the door, trying to catch his breath, and listened to the boy raging in the room at his back. Yuki came up the stairs and paused at seeing Haru, his eyes flickered from the door and to the younger boy again.

And he opened his mouth to speak, "..." and said nothing, but instead stared at a space just above the cows left ear.

Haru patted the ground beside him, and they both listened, waiting as it grew silent, as the screaming and crashing grew less and less... and the sobs in between grew more frequent. Then they waited as the sobs died down, and the last whimpers faded away.

They waited as the whispers, memories, and ghosts grew silent.

And opened the door, and entered, looking around at the mess, and finally at the red-haired cat, curled in tangled sheets, hair, stiff with salty tears, in his eyes, t-shirt riding up his back. His hands were tucked in to his chest, his legs pulled up.

Haru would have smiled if it wasn't for the red scratches that covered his face and arms.

"He claws at himself, he was angry, it's raining." Yuki said, as if that explained it all.

'You woke his ghosts.' Thought Haru, but he said nothing, he wished he hadn't seen Kyo crying - no. He wished Kyo hadn't known he'd seen him crying.

Yuki ruffled the cat's hair, pulling it out his eyes, and Haru saw a flash of open eyes, then it was gone, and an even breathing Kyo, with a permanent scowl, turned in his sleep.

"I'm so sorry."

Those were the words Yuki mouthed, and Haru didn't see, because he was to busy looking at blood, leaking from a deep scratch on the boys neck.

When they left, Kyo sat up, suddenly awake, seething, and unknowing as to why.

I hope you liked it!


End file.
